The West London Line

The West London Line

The Battle for London

The Battle for London

Bankside

London's Original District of Sin

Publication Date15th August 2011

Book FormatHardback

pages288

Illustrations120

Height234

Width156

The story of historic district on the south bank of the Thames and beyond - the original playground of Londoners, complete with inns, bear pits, brothels and theatres.
Regular Price £20.00 Online Price: £10.00
Availability: In stock
ISBN
9781848683365

The story of historic district on the south bank of the Thames and beyond - the original playground of Londoners, complete with inns, bear pits, brothels and theatres. On the south bank of the Thames and demarcated by Blackfriars and Tower Bridges lies the district known as Bankside, the Borough and Southwark. Its origin was in a Roman settlement nestling around the southern end of London Bridge, until the eighteenth century the only bridge across the Thames in London. Being separated only by the Thames from the City of London and outside the City's jurisdiction, it developed as a place for bawdy and disreputable entertainment and leisure - including the Globe theatre made famous by performing William Shakespeare's plays. It was an area also sought out for its 'stews' which were some of London's most notorious brothels where every taste could be catered for. Borough High Street contained proportionately more inns and taverns in its length than anywhere else in Britain - and some of these were immortalised by Chaucer and Dickens. The George alone survives to give some idea of what these ancient hostelries were like. From a time when London was a collection of discrete districts and villages, here is the long history of Bankside, the metropolis's disreputable and licentious yet vibrant, cosmopolitan underbelly.

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